Private Collection - Querelle
by Parfumerie Generale

I don't like this much. It smells like a bitter lime, a dry frankincense, and a sour vetiver. The spices impart no sweetness, either. In all, it is dry and unflattering from my viewpoint. I give it respect for uniqueness, but I don't feel drawn to it, either as a feminine perfume or as an atmospheric fragrance.

Reading the reviews below, I can understand the enthusiasm for this very interesting creation. However, as another Basenoter previously mentioned on the forum, it does have certain similarities to Kouros. I wouldn’t say they are exactly the same but I am finding myself drawing parallels between the two.

Where Kouros is honey sweet and in-your-face, Querelle is darker, dryer, and more subtle and sophisticated. Its darkness reminds me of Dior’s Eau Noire (but with the black caraway and vetiver replacing the immortelle, lavender and indian spices - in other words, not as ghastly) and, at a push, I would say that Querelle is almost a hybrid of these two.

Unfortunately, as I’m neither a big fan of Kouros nor Eau Noire, I’ll have to pass.

Querelle is a pungent green scent with some very masculine qualties. The formula is an unusual mix of verdancy, light spice and dark and powerful basenotes. Vetiver, oakmoss, and black caraway keep the resinous green sap like theme flowing all the way through the scent. The black caraway is unusual and a very powerful note that blends with vetiver well. I might smell juniper also in these green notes. Cinnamon spice livens up the opening adding a sparkling balance, while frankincense + oakmoss darkens down the basenotes. The clash of spice and the dark finish gives a slight metallic sheen to the scent. A leathery oakmoss + frankincense combines with black caraway oil for an aged green leather patina to this otherwise zesty herbal scent. Yes I like it quite a bit. Has a serious attitude to it but is also energising.

Querelle is a scent in Parfumerie General’s Private Collection. I’ve revised my review, and given it a slight downgrade. It is pretty good, but I’m not as keen on it as I was at first. Qurelle has two phases. The first is dark and spicy. It is deep, complex, quite tangy and intriguing. The dark spices and incense are a bit sweet but not problematic. Ambergris gives a balsam-vanilla note. All these rich ingredients are balanced by the tangy note from vetiver. In phase two much of the complexity burns off and what is left is a vetiver-centered scent that gets even tangier and more than a little soapy. This is in the Guerlain mode but better. I don’t like vetiver done that way, I find it too heavy and soapy. But if you like vetiver, then by all means give this a try and see what you think.

This is an intriguing scent, highly unusual and challenging – very different from the usual run of fragrances out there. Opens with a citrus that is supported by caraway, myrrh, and cinnamon — this is an incredibly creative combination and I, in my inadequacy, respond to it by not knowing how to take it. It puts a whole new face on citrus: It’s a warm / cold citrus because it quite quickly picks up an incense and oakmoss and at the same time picks up the caraway and vetiver. The accord pulls me in two directions and I don’t know whether, I love it or hate it, but that’s irrelevant because, endearing or annoying, it’s compelling and I must keep smelling it. Not only must I smell it, but it’s also the kind of scent I want to take on for myself. To my nose it’s linear, but it has every right to be because it is definitely schizophrenic, and, being two things at once, why should it bother complicating its duality even more? I can’t really talk about the dry down as a separate entity because the dry down is about the same as the opening. It has the whole cast of characters, as did the opening, and for a second I think maybe I should wash it off, but, instead, I apply some more. Some fragrances are love it or hate it; for me, Querelle is a love it AND hate it; but I love it much more than hate it. It's compelling.